Chinese for English speakers Supermarket · Lesson 2

No past tense

Chinese has no past tense — 昨天我买牛奶 (Yesterday I bought milk) — use time words for past.

Conversation

  1. Magicat Magicat

    昨天我买牛奶，

    zuó tiān wǒ mǎi niú nǎi,

    I bought milk yesterday,

    Tip: 昨天<zuótiān> = yesterday 牛奶 <niúnǎi> = milk ATTENTION: in Chinese the concept of present, past and future of verbs does NOT exist. You can say "yesterday I do", "now I do", "tomorrow I do"

  2. Magicat Magicat

    但是已经过期了。

    dàn shì yǐ jīng guò qì le.

    But it has expired already.

    Tip: 过期 <guòqī> = to expire

  3. Rose Rose

    是吗？不好意思。

    shì ma? bù hǎo yì si.

    Really! I'm very sorry.

    Tip: 不好意思 <bùhǎoyìsi> = I am sorry, I feel ashamed

  4. Rose Rose

    马上给您一瓶新鲜的牛奶。

    mǎ shàng gěi nín yì píng xīn xiān de niú nǎi.

    I'll immediately get you a bottle of fresh milk.

    Tip: 新鲜 <xīnxiān> = fresh, new

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

Does Chinese have past tense?

No verb conjugation for past. Use time words (昨天 yesterday, 上周 last week) + completion marker 了. 我吃了 = 'I ate (completed)'.

What does 过期 mean?

'Expired'. 这个已经过期了 = 'this has expired'. Important for food shopping.

Common Chinese past time words?

昨天 (yesterday), 前天 (day before yesterday), 上周 (last week), 上个月 (last month), 去年 (last year).

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Chinese lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.

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